African American
Related: About this forumIt’s not about mental illness: The big lie that always follows mass shootings by white males
I get really really tired of hearing the phrase mental illness thrown around as a way to avoid saying other terms like toxic masculinity, white supremacy, misogyny or racism.
We barely know anything about the suspect in the Charleston, South Carolina, atrocity. We certainly dont have testimony from a mental health professional responsible for his care that he suffered from any specific mental illness, or that he suffered from a mental illness at all.
We do have statistics showing that the vast majority of people who commit acts of violence do not have a diagnosis of mental illness and, conversely, people who have mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators.
We know that the stigma of people who suffer from mental illness as scary, dangerous potential murderers hurts people every single day it costs people relationships and jobs, it scares people away from seeking help who need it, it brings shame and fear down on the heads of people who already have it bad enough.
But the media insists on trotting out mental illness and blaring out that phrase nonstop in the wake of any mass killing. I had to grit my teeth every time I personally debated someone defaulting to the mindless mantra of The real issue is mental illness over the Isla Vista shootings.
The real issue is mental illness is a goddamn cop-out. I almost never hear it from actual mental health professionals, or advocates working in the mental health sphere, or anyone who actually has any kind of informed opinion on mental health or serious policy proposals for how to improve our treatment of the mentally ill in this country.
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/18/its_not_about_mental_illness_the_big_lie_that_always_follows_mass_shootings_by_white_males/
randys1
(16,286 posts)insane person.
He screamed at his guest that there are only a very few, isolated racists in USA
That there is absolutely NO institutional racism at all
and there went my fucking blood pressure again
Now, there is a mental illness if you are a middle class or poor person and a republican.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)i bet it is hard for him to see racists. it is just normal to him...until it is not. then it's mental illness.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)A punk who was persuaded by his kind to feel violence was his only recourse.
The society is partly to blame. The education system and the symbols backed by elites and idiots alike were influential in forcing his action.
He could have joined the military, gone to Iraq and done something similar, and we'd have never known his name.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)racist terrorist?